How AI is changing communications and PR: Risks and benefits

Managing communications has become quite the juggling act. Each passing year throws in a new challenge, whether that be keeping up with audience interests, navigating tough economic conditions or even defusing an unexpected brand crisis.

There’s been a lot of discussion around the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in marketing and communications and for good reason: AI has the potential to reshape the corporate communications landscape. Corporate communications teams have become responsible for safeguarding their brand from potential misfires caused by AI technology. However, knowing where to begin in assessing the risks and benefits can be challenging.

Rachelle Bedell, Communications and Engagement Manager for the City of Gilroy, CA, has been experimenting with generative AI as she develops content to build connections between Gilroy’s local government and its 60,000 residents.

We spoke to Bedell about her big takeaways on the benefits and drawbacks of using AI in communications roles. In this guide, we’ll cover her tips, along with more advice on how communications leaders can empower their teams to use this technology with confidence.

What can communications teams do with AI?

Many people claim that AI can increase your team’s productivity, but is there any evidence to support this? According to Bedell, there is.

“Not only does it make us more efficient, it makes us go further,” says Bedell. “It’s like the invention of the graphing calculator for math. We don’t have to sit around and add numbers with paper and a pencil anymore. Instead, we can take what it provides and do so much more.”

But what does “more” look like exactly? Here are three practical corporate communications applications that can help your team save time.

Streamline content ideation and creation

Coommunications professionals not only have to come up with creative, compelling brand messaging, they also have to tailor that message for specific channels, audiences and events. Meeting the right person with the right message at the right time is only getting harder.

Luckily, AI is here to help.

Generative AI tools like ChatGPT can’t provide you with ready-to-publish content: There’s still a lot of ambiguity around whether AI-generated content is protected under copyright law. To safeguard your business, it’s important to customize the final output with your brand’s distinctive tone. This will ensure a personal touch that maintains your brand’s image.

“I use it most often for rewrites,” says Bedell. “I’ll ask for ideas on how to rephrase content so it’s more engaging or so that it drives a specific action, then I evaluate its response and refine from there.”

AI-powered tools can give you a new perspective and spark creativity, guiding you in the right direction without having to wait for inspiration to strike.

“It’s a great starting point for creative ideas,” says Bedell. “For example, I’m working on the city’s annual Pride Month campaign. We’ve done campaigns in the past where we’ve explored the symbolism of the Pride flag, and another where we highlighted important historical figures of the movement, but this year I wanted to do something different. I asked ChatGPT to generate some ideas and dove in from there.”

At Sprout, our communications team employs generative AI to develop creative titles for press releases and media pitches. A simple prompt like “Write 3-4 press release headline variations related to X, Y, and Z” can return valuable starting points for further refinement.

Collect social insights

Audience insights are the foundation of better brand positioning. With AI, communications teams can gain a deeper understanding of the customer’s mind through social media sentiment analysis.

Sentiment analysis tools use machine learning to gather information about consumer attitudes and assess their emotional state. In communications, these insights are commonly used to sharpen media pitches, messaging and executive comms.

For example, the Indiana University marketing and communications team relies on insights from Sprout’s Social Listening tool to stay up-to-date on campus conversations and get ahead of potential crises. These insights allow them to take proactive measures toward managing their reputation online.

At Sprout, we’re committed to building on this technology with a series of new AI features across the platform. We’re combining the power of our proprietary machine learning and automation capabilities with OpenAI’s GPT model. The new features will be available throughout the Sprout platform, starting with additions to listening, publishing, customer care and advocacy.

Gain a global advantage

Multilingual sentiment analysis uses native language machine learning to gather meaningful sentiment data from content across several languages. These tools capture the nuances specific to each language’s unique grammar rules.

These insights strengthen communications efforts geared toward non-English audiences, allowing you to build a brand that serves the diverse needs of your audience. For communications professionals like Bedell, such insights can ensure that all audiences receive messages that are both effective and equitable.

“California just passed a state-wide law allowing sidewalk vendors,” says Bedell. “Now, we’re changing our processes to accommodate state law. That includes creating ways to make the permit accessible to both our English- and Spanish-speaking populations.”

In the future, Bedell could use multilingual sentiment analysis to ground this work in data gathered from Spanish speakers in the region. This would help her create a more personalized message that reflects how residents are discussing the issue.

How communications teams can mitigate risks when working with AI

AI will undoubtedly transform the field of communications, but the professionals behind the screen are irreplaceable.

“The other day I saw a headline that said communications teams will eventually be replaced by AI,” says Bedell. “I knew it had to come from someone who isn’t currently working in communications. There’s too much nuance in the role for it to be fully automated. The tech isn’t there yet.”

On top of that, there’s a foundational communication skill that will always need a human touch: relationship-building.

“I don’t think people realize how much relationship-building goes into communications,” says Bedell. “It’s half the battle. The success of our content is dependent on our relationships with downtown businesses, the public health department—the list goes on.”

Instead of asking whether AI will replace our jobs, we should consider how it will transform them. The collaboration between AI and communication professionals creates a path toward a future where technology enhances human creativity, insight and productivity, redefining what’s possible for individuals at every level.

However, it’s crucial to acknowledge the risks associated with adopting AI. Finding the right balance between AI and human effort is key to achieving the best outcomes. As you embrace AI’s potential in communications, it’s important to understand and address the risks that come with it.

Double-check everything

Professionals who use text-based generative AI solutions should be cautious of potential avenues for misinformation, like “chatbot hallucinations” or faulty claims.

Bedell has experienced these issues firsthand. “I’ve had times where I’ve asked ChatGPT to share its sources and it hasn’t always worked out. Once, when I was looking for a source for an example it included, it told me that it didn’t realize I wanted a real example and had included a hypothetical option instead.”

When using AI-generated content, it’s crucial to ensure its accuracy and originality by reviewing it thoroughly. Always ask for sources from AI-powered assistants, and take the time to verify their validity. These steps are essential for maintaining your brand’s safety and avoiding potential crises.

Prioritize data security

Speaking of crises, any comms pro will tell you that even a mild data security mishap can be an absolute nightmare.

Communication teams aren’t responsible for setting the rules around how and why teams use AI. They will, however, have to deal with any fallout that occurs if an employee shares confidential information with an AI tool, creating an unfortunate privacy issue.

“You have to have conversations with legal and technical teams to understand the pitfalls your organization may face when working with AI,” says Bedell. “It’s important to find safe ways to let your employees leverage this type of tool.”

At Sprout, we’re prioritizing the security of our data and intellectual property by educating our teams on safe usage of generative AI. To ensure responsible use, our legal and IT teams worked together to create a policy outlining approved and prohibited use cases.

The policy is concise and straightforward, even for individuals with limited experience using AI tools. This helps busy teams navigate changes more easily, even with the rapid developments of generative AI.

Embrace experimentation

There are risks that come with using AI. That said, not using AI also presents risks of its own.

Bedell broke it down like this: “On one hand, you have companies that are embracing AI. On the other, there are companies that have chosen to prohibit its use entirely because it’s too new. I understand being concerned about the risk, but I feel like they’re missing a huge opportunity to let their people learn how to truly leverage it.”

Artificial intelligence is here to stay. We’ll continue to find more applications for AI in communications, media and PR. To avoid falling behind, it is essential to encourage your team to experiment frequently with AI technology.

Harnessing the power of AI in communications

Artificial intelligence can be a powerful ally in the ever-evolving world of corporate communication. When we combine AI with human expertise, we open ourselves up to a new era of communication that allows professionals to connect, resonate and drive success at scale.

For more insights on how communications leaders are extracting value from emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, machine learning and more, check out Sprout’s 2023 State of Social Media Report.

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8 ways to use social media for market research

What is social media market research and why is it valuable?

Social media market research is the practice of gathering historical and real-time data from social media channels to improve your business. It gives you critical insights from qualitative data (comments and posts) and quantitative metrics (likes and shares).

While it can be done natively, intelligent tools driven by artificial intelligence, like Sprout, make the process of gathering social intelligence:

• Cost-effective: It’s more affordable than traditional methods like surveys and focus groups that can cost thousands of dollars depending on the size and complexity of the research project.
• Quick: Where traditional market research takes time, social media updates in real-time for immediate results, anytime you want.
• Comprehensive: With over 4.76 billion social media users in 2023, gather vast and diverse social listening data to analyze conversations and extract more accurate insights about your brand and the entire industry.

Sprout enables you to research different social platforms at the same time and analyze the information in one centralized platform to inform data-driven marketing strategies across the organization.

The benefits of using social media for market research

According to The Harris Poll data in The 2023 State of Social Media report, 90% of business leaders agree that their company’s success will depend on how effectively it can use social media data and insights to inform business strategy.

Social media market research is the tool that will enable you to harness the data that will transform every part of your business, including:

Becoming more customer-centric

Our report also revealed that 91% of business leaders said social insights had an impact on gaining a better understanding of their customers. The granular insight social media marketing research provides into your consumer base helps you develop customer-centric strategies that build stronger relationships, increase retention and improve your growth rate.

Managing brand reputation

Social media research gives you data-driven insights into how your target audience perceives your brand. That’s why 94% of business leaders look at social media insights to build and manage brand reputation.

Keeping ahead of competitors

Ninety-two percent of business leaders say social media insights help improve their brand’s competitive positioning. Social data taps into deep competitor insights, such as what people like about competing brands and how customers respond to them. All of which guide how you can differentiate yourself from the pack.

Predicting future trends and filling market gaps

Market research through social listening helps you know where consumers are going next, per 89% of business leaders, who said that social insights impacted how they predict future trends. Social media market research gives you a holistic view of the market so you can identify emerging trends and plan long-term and short-term growth campaigns. And so, enabling you to take advantage of market gap opportunities and expand your market share in a focused way.

Optimizing your business with less spend

Seventy-six percent of business leaders say that social media insights have positively impacted moving their businesses forward with reduced budgets. With close to five billion people on social media, it provides a cost-effective way to magnify your brand, engage with customers and reach out to new audiences. It helps brands personalize campaigns and customer care more precisely and at scale.

8 insights you can glean from social media market research

Social listening data is a valuable source of market intelligence. But with all that raw data at your disposal, it can be challenging to sift through the noise to capture what is truly important and can make a real impact on your business strategy.

Here are eight actionable insights you should pull from your social media market research and how to find them.

1. Audience intent to know what customers want

Social media market research gives you valuable insights into customer intent when they mention you or your competitors. Deep dive into social listening data to get to know your audience on a personal level, from how they feel about certain topics to what influences their purchase decisions.

How to find it: Build out your community management strategy using social networks. Also, leverage platforms like Reddit to know what your audience is talking about and respond to threads directly. Capabilities like Sprout’s social media engagement tool help you capture customer sentiment from social listening across networks and seamlessly adjust your social strategy accordingly, in one place.

2. How customers use your products and services

Social media chatter gives you an insider’s look into how your customers are using your product and services and what new opportunities are out there for you.

By researching their brand and products through social listening, Lodge Cast Iron learned how customers actually use their cookware. They discovered a new segment of customers, vegans, which led them to create more vegan recipes to better engage with them and their interests.

How to find: Search for your brand and the name of your product on social platforms like Twitter or Instagram to learn how customers actually use your goods and services. Sites like Reddit are also great to tap into customer feedback, including conversations and communities relevant to your brand or products. With a tool like Sprout Social, you can easily monitor all this data including branded keywords and phrases to stay up to date with what customers have to say.

3. What existing customers like and dislike about your brand

Social media listening tools help you understand what people like and dislike about your product and services. In fact, business leaders surveyed by The Harris Poll said that 42% of their company’s product development is influenced by social media data insights.

Customer comments are often not as simple as “I like [brand]” or “I don’t like [brand]”. Some are indirect, don’t tag your handle or misspell your brand name. Analyze all comments through sentiment analysis with a smart social media intelligence platform like Sprout to get a clear idea of what customers expect from you and distinct insights on how to address them.

How to find: There are several ways you can find feedback about your brand. Search for branded keywords and phrases organically on social, or peruse the reviews section on platforms like Facebook, TripAdvisor and Google. Beyond these searches, your inbox is a great space to find customer feedback. It’s also a good idea to reach out to sales or customer service teams who hear directly from customers about their likes and dislikes.

4. Competitor intelligence to know where you stand

Insights from social media market research guide your competitor strategy for both short-term and long-term campaigns. In fact, 92% of marketers in The 2023 State of Social Media report say that social insights play a role in improving their brand’s competitive positioning.

Understand your competitors’ content and ad strategy, track how the market responds to them and know where you are in terms of audience segmentation.

How to find: Identify your competitors and monitor their social presence across their different social channels. With Sprout Social, you can set up a competitive analysis report across various social networks including review websites, like Google My Business, to track competitor benchmarks and understand your customers’ attitudes toward the competition.

5. What customers expect from you in the future

Consumers frequently take to social to share what they want from brands in the future. A brand may receive a request for a future store location or a coffee company might see comments asking for a specific roast or drink to come back on the menu. At Sprout, we often field Tweets from customers with new feature requests that we pass along to our product team for consideration down the road.

Another way to solicit feedback about what customers want from your brand is to simply ask. You’d be surprised how many people respond with their thoughts and ideas to a question published on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

How to find: One place to find this information is right in your inbox. With Sprout’s tagging capabilities, you can label and sort messages by type as they come through, making it easy to pass along product requests to the appropriate teams.

6. Trends your audience is interested in

Be attentive to market drivers and use them to catapult your brand strategy. Take how Netflix used the nostalgia marketing trend for their popular TV show, Stranger Things. The show capitalized on people’s fond memories of days past while using children as the main protagonists to cover a wide age segment.

To harness trends successfully, it’s important to map out your business objectives, data analysis plans and baseline metrics before you start scrolling for inspiration.

How to find: Explore social media networks and other tools like Google Trends to keep a pulse on what’s hot. Also, use Sprout’s listening tool to identify trends and topics in your industry and among customers through keywords. Uncover keywords and terms most used by your target audience and discover related topics frequently mentioned with any terms you’re currently tracking.

7. What content resonates with your audience

With millions of posts published on social daily, you need to be strategic to capture your audience’s attention. Take stock of your existing content to see what themes or content formats fuel your performance goals.

If in-feed video gets you more impressions than text posts, consider investing more in video production. If your goal is to drive conversations, refer to posts with high engagement (likes, comments or shares). And don’t be afraid to ask your audience directly what topics or social content they want to see from you.

How to find: Sprout’s Post Performance Report helps you break down the types of content you’ve published and identify which performed the best. For more granular insights, sort the data by impressions, engagement and clicks to determine what formats and themes are most effective on specific networks.

8. Find who to partner with

Social media market research helps you find the right influencers or content creators to collaborate with. Insights can tell you if they match your brand values, have similar audience types and create content that consistently engages. Your co-creators can also play a key role in product development to expand your reach.

For example, Target offered influencer Tabitha Brown a first-of-its-kind deal following her first year working with the retailer. Their exclusive Tabitha Brown collections include clothing, swimwear, accessories, home and office products, food and kitchenware.

How to find: Monitor collaborations to see how their content is performing and get insights to make tweaks to remain aligned with goals. Also, track your lead conversions and see if you are getting enough return on investment (ROI).

How to share social media market research findings org-wide

Social insights provide rich insights that benefit the whole org including product teams, customer care, sales and support.

To share your findings with these various teams, your data needs to present a holistic narrative and connect your data to company goals to highlight its true impact, without being complicated. This type of strategic data storytelling requires effective visualization elements like charts, graphs and word clouds that synthesize the data alongside other business intelligence. This enables all stakeholders to understand the larger picture, with insights from every key business channel.

Sprout creates presentation-ready charts and graphs that break down customer, competitor and industry insights from across social networks. Also, combine these insights with your Tableau data for a more comprehensive omnichannel view.

With these combined insights you can:

• Track social KPIs org-wide and measure against benchmarks.
• Share crucial product experience insights with the product development teams.
• Inform marketing teams of any negative brand buzz.
• Collaborate with the broader marketing teams to refine messaging and content marketing strategies.

Better research starts with social

When brands demonstrate they understand their customers’ wants and needs, they stand to strengthen their bottom line and develop customers for life. Thanks to social media market research, brands have access to fast and reliable insights that deepen their understanding of what their customers want and expect. From identifying new opportunities to improving customer relationships, data from social empowers you to make smarter decisions that contribute to your business goals.

Ready to turn your social data into valuable insights about your industry and customers? Download this worksheet to learn how to conduct quick and valuable market research in under 90 minutes.

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How to get Google reviews: A step-by-step guide to boosting your sales

It was a cool March day and I was sitting at my desk writing what was sure to be my next awesome blog post, when I heard my heater fan start up. A few seconds later the sound of a loud grinding made me look up, then all of a sudden it just stopped working.

Now my heater was almost 20 years old, so I knew this day was coming.

But now I had to find someone to install a new heater.

Anytime I make a purchase, no matter how big or small, I always do my research. And I’m not alone, 53% of shoppers say they do online research before making a purchase.

I did my initial HVAC research by asking family, friends, and even on a community Facebook page. This narrowed my search down to 4 companies, I had each come out to give me a quote.

Each company seemed like they would do a good job, so how did I make a decision?

It came down to the Google reviews.

The company I went with is just one guy, Pat, a true small business owner. He wasn’t the cheapest option, in fact he gave the second highest quote. But his Google review score and testimonials stood out, so he was my choice.

When he got to my house to install the new HVAC, he asked me two things:

• “How was my pricing compared to other quotes?”
• “Why did you decide to go with me?”

Two questions that any business owner or marketer would want to know. So I told him - it came down to his Google reviews.

What he told me next, is why I’m sharing this story. He said:

“I do some advertising, but I’m going to stop. I don’t need to advertise anymore, the Google reviews and word of mouth is where I’m getting most of my business. And I’m so busy, I don’t need the business from the ads.”

WOW!!!

Wouldn't that be great if you were so inundated with business that you wouldn't need to advertise.

It doesn’t matter if your price point is a $12,000 HVAC, a $25 craft on Etsy, or you're just sharing content. Reviews matter, especially Google reviews.

Reviews are the difference between a business that’s status quo and one that’s growing.

Benefits of strong Google reviews

There are several benefits to having a strong presence of positive Google reviews, including

1 - Increased visibility: 

Positive reviews can improve your business's ranking on Google, making it more likely that potential customers find and choose your business.

2 - Improved credibility: 

Positive reviews can help build trust and improve your business's reputation, making customers more likely to choose your business over your competitors.

3 - Valuable feedback: 

Google reviews provide valuable feedback from customers that can help you identify areas for improvement.

4 - Free marketing: 

Positive reviews can serve as free marketing for your business. Just look at Pat and how he no longer needs to advertise thanks to his strong Google reviews. 

5 - Increased sales: 

Positive Google reviews can lead to an increase in sales, as customers are more likely to choose a business with a high number of positive reviews over one with little to no reviews or negative reviews.

Google reviews are the most impactful

Google reviews matter more than other review sites because Google is the most widely used search engine, with over 85% of people using them to search.

And its reviews are prominently displayed in search results, making them highly visible and influential. 

They are integrated with other Google services, such as Google Maps, which further increases their reach and impact.

So how can you get to the same place as Pat?

Requirements for getting Google reviews

To receive Google reviews, you need to have a Google My Business profile set up for your business. This requires a physical location or service area that meets Google's guidelines.

If you don’t have a Google My Business profile, here are step-by-step instructions to set one up:

1 - Go to www.google.com/business. Click the "Start Now" button in the top right corner of the page.

2 - Sign in to your Google account: If you are not already signed in to your Google account, you will be prompted to do so. If you do not have a Google account, click the "Create account" button to create one.

3 - Enter your business information including name, address, and phone number. If your business does not have a physical location, you can select the option to "Add a service area instead" and enter the cities or regions you serve.

4 - Choose the category that best describes your business. This will help customers find your business when searching on Google.

5 - Google will need to verify that you are the owner of the business before your profile can be published. You can choose to verify your business by mail, phone, or email. 

6 - Once your business is verified, you can add additional information to your profile, such as your website, hours of operation, and photos. 

7 - You’re now ready to start receiving reviews.

How to get Google reviews

Ask:

It’s that easy. If you just provided great service, delivered a product, whatever it may be - just ask.

You can ask in a follow up email or text. Pat sent me a text a few days after installing the HVAC, he asked if I was satisfied, then asked if I would give him a review.

Pat was very professional and did an amazing job with the install, so of course I left a review.

Make it easy:

If you don’t make it easy, you’re taking a chance that your audience won’t leave a review. Include a link to the review site with a clear call to action.

Automate your review ask

Setting up an automated email campaign to ask for reviews can be a powerful way to do this. 

By using email automation, you can save time and ensure that your customers receive a timely and personalized request for feedback.

Here’s an example of an automated email I received from a local restaurant after I had placed an order online.

Provide clear instructions:

If customers are unfamiliar with leaving reviews on Google, provide clear instructions on how to do so. This could include a step-by-step guide or a video tutorial.

Timing:

Timing is key. Ask for a review shortly after a customer has made a purchase or received a service, while the experience is still fresh in their mind.

Personalize your ask:

Personalize your request by addressing the customer by name and mentioning specific details about their experience.

Respond

Finally, always respond to reviews, whether they are positive or negative. This shows that you value your customers' feedback and are committed to providing the best possible experience.

After the job Pat said something else that really stood out to me and made me happy that I gave my business to him, he said “thank you for supporting a small business.”

Share you success stories

Do you have a strong Google review score? Did you apply some of these strategies and have success? I would love to know. Add your scores and what you did to achieve that score below. Or what you plan on doing to improve your Google review scores.

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Key strategies for social media for business

Hot take: mastering social media is what sets businesses today apart.

Competition is fierce among brands and attention is scarce. Establishing an identity and sense of community via social is key to standing out.

Not to mention attracting valuable new customers.

Done right, a goal-driven social strategy means positive results for your business. Countless brands have been built from the ground up via Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.

Wrangling your social media strategy can be daunting with so many moving pieces. This is especially true if you’re totally new to the space. We get it.

That’s why we put together this post breaking down the basics of social media for business.

Table of contents

• Benefits of social media for business
• Setting social media goals for your business
• Follow these 5 social media tips for business
• Use social media marketing tools for business
• Uncover social analytics and reporting for business
• Involve your C-Suite and employees to amplify your business
• Work on a corporate communication plan
• Go beyond the basics of social media for business

Benefits of social media for business

“Okay, so why is social media important for business?”

Good question! A decade ago, the upsides of social media for business were tougher to quantify.

Thankfully, times have changed and ROI is no longer a question mark. Let’s be crystal clear:

Social media is valuable for businesses of any size or industry. Finding customers on social media has a direct impact on sales and your bottom line.

Building awareness. Nurturing leads and driving sales. Community-building.

The list goes on given that the benefits of social media aren’t one-size-fits-all. That said, here are five upsides that brands can see from a smart social presence.

Like it or not, social media has become a go-to research channel for consumers at large.

Think about your own experience looking up businesses.

Chances are you’ve visited a restaurant’s Facebook to confirm their hours. Maybe you’ve combed a company’s IG content and comments to see if their products live up to the hype. This highlights how social media builds awareness for brands in a way that your website can’t.

Your business’ social presence is a powerful touchpoint with new customers. That’s because social media serves as an authentic reflection of what a company is all about.

Comments and shout-outs from satisfied customers speak volumes about your business. If someone’s first impression of your business is a glowing social review, that’s a huge plus.

Create a meaningful connection with your customers

It’s no exaggeration to say that social media serves as a Swiss Army Knife for customer support.

For reference, many brands use their social presence to…

• Answer questions from potential customers
• Handle concerns from existing customers
• Celebrate and welcome new customers
• Gather feedback from your target audience

Channels like Facebook and Instagram are a timely alternative to email or chatbots. These channels also offer opportunities to personalize your responses and build connections. Going back and forth with your customers via comments can leave a lasting impression.

Show off your products (and what makes them compelling)

From testimonials to tutorials and beyond, social media is a prime place to show off products.

As noted in the Sprout Social Index™, the most popular types of posts teach people how products work.  For example, an IG Reel or TikTok can educate a potential customer in a matter of seconds. Contrast this with static photos and traditional product descriptions.

Formats such as short-form video empower brands to bring their products to life. Bonus points if you can feature real people and satisfied customers in your content.

Increase your brand’s visibility and reach

Recent demographics show us that people are spending hours per day on social media, not just a few minutes here and there.

This highlights the value of businesses having an established social presence. Many potential customers will see your brand’s Facebook or IG before they see your website.

Look no further than the rise of social search as evidence of this. Trends and research say that young consumers treat social media like a search engine.

The more word of mouth your business earns, the easier it is for your audience to find you. This applies to social searchers and potential customers alike.

Gather real-time insights to make data-driven business decisions

Social media marketing for business is about so much more than promotion.

Consider how you can use analytics to research the following in real-time:

• Audience pain points
• Competitor messaging and content
• Sentiment analysis (and how people feel about your brand)
• The most popular types of products and content among your follow
• The latest trends in your industry

And that only scratches the surface!

From your audience to competitors, there’s no better place to conduct market research. That’s because social media is a treasure trove of data points that are all out in the open.

Setting social media goals for your business

The benefits of using social media for business speak for themselves.

That said, achieving them doesn’t happen by accident. That’s why goal-setting is so important.

Keep in mind that social media goals> are unique as they’re totally dependent on your business. Also, you can set multiple goals that actually overlap and influence each other. Goals affect everything from your content strategy to the social platforms you use.

Setting social media goals for business

There’s no “right” way to set goals but the process can be a lot. A few tips to get you started:

• Start with the big picture before getting granular. Why does your business need a social presence? What resources do you need to make those results a reality?
• Look at your target audience and customer personas. For example, how are your customers using social media? Is your audience glued to TikTok or Instagram? What types of content do they want to see? Brainstorm how using social media for business can help you reach your audience.
• Think about your business’ holistic marketing strategy and how social media fits in.
• Tie your social media goals to actual metrics and KPIs. This is a big one in an era where marketers are under pressure to prove ROI. From engagement to traffic and beyond, there’s plenty to track.

Sample B2B social media goals and KPIs

• Brand awareness (growth, engagements) and consideration (link clicks, web traffic)
• Lead generation (marketing qualified leads)
• Competitor analysis (share of voice) and market share
• Audience engagement (likes, replies, shares, etc.)
• Drive customer loyalty (+ CX) and reduce churn
• Customer service efficiencies (engagement speed and rates)
• Reputation management
• Customer satisfaction
• Positive reviews
• Customer sentiment online

Sample B2C social media goals and KPIs

• Brand awareness (growth, engagements) and consideration (link clicks, web traffic)
• Find new sales opportunities (conversations to join)
• Uncover brand expansion opportunities
• Reputation management (engaging with inbound messages)
• Increase customer satisfaction
• Inspire customer loyalty
• Product launch analysis
• Competitive analysis

Create a social media strategy for business

Let’s say you have your goals squared away.

Remember: effectively using social media for business means having a plan. Posting at random won’t do you any favors. Without a strategy, your social presence can quickly become a time-sink.

No pressure, right? Mapping your social media marketing strategy doesn’t have to be daunting. To keep your focus and avoid getting overwhelmed, here’s what we suggest you focus on:

• Ensure social goals solve challenges
• Extend social marketing efforts throughout your organization
• Focus on networks that add value
• Create engaging content
• Identify business opportunities through social
• Engage instead of ignore
• Track, improve and market your effort

If you focus on these points, you’ll already be way ahead of the curve.

Follow these 5 social media tips for business

There’s no shortage of social media tips out there to help you fine-tune your strategy.

Some best practices related to social media for business are relative. Below are five universal tips that are fair game for companies of all shapes and sizes.

1. Build a human, people-first social presence

This might seem like a no-brainer.

That said, busy businesses tend to get stuck in a “copy-and-paste” approach to social. Comments and social captions should feel like they were written by a real person, not a robot.

Injecting personality into your posts is a low-hanging way to relate to your audience. Beyond that, personalizing your replies to people shows that you’re there to help them. This is an example of how to use social media for business to build connections.

2. Look at your social presence as a resource (not just a promotional channel)

Don’t make the mistake of treating your social presence as a dumping ground for offers. Building an audience means being genuinely helpful, not salesy.

Many of the best practices across social media treat their accounts as resources. That means:

• Creating actionable, educational content (think: how-tos, tutorial videos)
• Answering questions and sharing advice with your audience
• Sharing company updates and keeping customers in the loop (see below)

Imagine that your social accounts are your first touchpoint with a potential customer. Sharing resources makes a better first impression than screaming “BUY NOW!”

3. Show up consistently

This applies to both publishing content and engaging with customers.

Conventional wisdom says that social media algorithms reward consistency. Sprout’s own research on the best times to post on social media confirms this.  If nothing else, letting your social feeds gather cobwebs isn’t a good look.

Neither is leaving your followers hanging. Making a conscious effort to reply to questions and comments is crucial. This is why you need to keep a close eye on your @tags and social notifications.

4. Be prepared to experiment with different types of content

Brands are spoiled for choice when it comes to the types of content they can post.

Below are two examples of brands with diverse social feeds in terms of content.

From short-form videos to Stories and slideshows, you have plenty of options. Different industries and types of brands thrive on different types of content.

That said, don’t make assumptions when it comes to what performs best.

Just because a competitor posts a bunch of memes doesn’t mean you should follow suit. Let your own analytics and engagement guide your content strategy.

5. Don’t treat your social presence like an island

Social media shouldn’t be a siloed channel separate from the rest of your marketing efforts.

From announcements to offers and company initiatives, social can be in the middle of it all. For example, a feature rollout isn’t something a SaaS brand should restrict to its email list. These sorts of updates should be front and center on social, too.

A more holistic approach to social media marketing for business is ideal. In turn, you maximize your marketing assets elsewhere and see a greater ROI for your efforts.

Use social media marketing tools for businesses

Good news: you’re not expected to do everything totally DIY when building your presence.

There’s no shortage of social media marketing tools out there to help with the heavy lifting. Depending on your needs, you might consider investing in a combo of the following:

• Scheduling tools that allow you to queue up content across multiple platforms
• Analytics tools that measure content performance and engagement (see Sprout Social below)
• Listening and monitoring tools that make it easier to track audience conversations

Remember: the purpose of these tools should be to make you more productive. A big challenge in building any sort of marketing stack is redundancies. It’s easy to invest in tools that overlap. This results in brands burning through their budgets and needlessly bouncing between platforms.

Uncover social analytics and reporting for business

The more opportunities to consolidate your tools, the better. Working with fewer tools means squeezing the most out of what you have. Also, you save a ton of time onboarding.

The less bouncing between tools, the better. This speaks to the value of an all-in-one social media management platform like Sprout.

With Sprout, brands access a comprehensive suite of social tools and analytics. For example, the platform makes it a cinch to map out your content calendar across platforms. This is a shining example of how to save time and avoid bouncing between tools.

Sprout’s analytics and dashboards encourage a goal-driven approach to social media for business. Advanced analytics means fewer question marks and a better understanding of your presence. This includes your top-performing content and social channels.

In short, you have a constant pulse on what’s working, what’s not and what you should do next.

Involve your C-Suite and employees to amplify your business

As noted earlier, social media shouldn’t be treated as an island.

This applies to your own team as well. The sooner you’re able to get approval and buy-in from your C-Suite, the better. Brand-building through employee advocacy is another way to use social media for business.

Employee advocacy is the promotion of a brand by its employees on social media.  Instead of solely promoting products, advocates promote a company at large. This means:

• Sharing behind-the-scenes experiences about work life
• Celebrating team members and workplace accomplishments
• Amplify company messages and promotions

Chances are you’ve seen your fair share of employee advocacy in action on LinkedIn.

Again, the crowded nature of social media means anything you can do to stand out is a plus. Advocacy is an opportunity to boost your company’s profile and exposure via social.

Work on a corporate communication plan

One last pointer for anyone on the enterprise level.

The power of social media as a communication channel shouldn’t be taken lightly. Brands have the opportunity to reach massive audiences at a moment’s notice. This applies to customers, industry leaders and competitors alike.

The stakes are high for large companies with significant audiences and stakeholders. That’s why having a corporate communication plan is crucial. In short, you need to establish rules for:

• Internal communication, including employee engagement and internal marketing
• External communication, including PR and how you speak to the public
• Executive communication (ex: how the C-level discusses your company on social media)
• Crisis communication to deal with controversies and damage control situations

Having all of the above squared away empowers brands to have consistent messaging. Likewise, you can avoid miscommunication and countless public headaches in the process.

Going beyond the basics of social media for business

An active social presence is an expectation, not an exception for companies today.

The tips and best practices above serve as a solid foundation. With the right goals and mentality, social media can have a positive impact on your business.

Building a results-driven social media presence is so much easier with a platform like Sprout.  From content to trend analysis and beyond, Sprout empowers brands to build their presence with confidence. If you haven’t already, test-drive a free trial of Sprout Social to see the full suite in action for yourself!

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Sign up page strategies proven to increase your email audience

The true measure of a website isn’t how flashy it looks. When you’re trying to build an email list, success comes down to one thing: how well can you turn web visitors into subscribers?

New sign ups to your newsletter are called conversions. They’ll be your true goal here. And when it comes down to it, the most potent tool for converting viewers into email subscribers is your sign up page.

If someone finds you on social media, for example, they may eventually land on your sign up page. If someone finds one of your posts through Google or Bing, they should eventually find your sign up page. 

Your sign up page is the point of decision where a new potential subscriber becomes a real subscriber. So make it count.

If you want a great signup page, you’ll have to stick to certain principles to ensure success. How do you turn your website from a traffic-gathering source to a bona fide email marketing machine? Let’s explore the key elements everyone should include.

What every sign up page needs

Also known as a landing page, your sign up page is as important to your email marketing as a landing strip is to an airport. It’s where the most critical steps happen. But what does a good sign up page look like in practice?

Here’s an example: fitness coach Alycia, a Zoomba instructor, was using a standard Facebook signup form to drive subscribers to her emails. But it wasn’t quite the draw she’d hoped it would be.

So Alycia sat down and created an honest-to-goodness landing page with AWeber’s sign up page builder. The result? A 100% increase in subscribers.

But setting up a new sign up page doesn’t quite tell the full story. You’ll still need to know how to nail the specifics of what every sign up page needs:

A Clear Header

This is the copy at the top of the sign up page. Your goal here should be clarity—ideally, you’ll demonstrate exactly what your visitor is signing up for. 

For example, “The New York Photographer’s Travel Guide” is a crystal-clear header that addresses the benefits of signing up as well as the specific industry it relates to. Putting these in these terms helped James Maher increase subscriptions by 3x. 

But notice something else that’s striking about that headline: the implicit promise of an incentive. That’s why you’ll also need to know about…

Compelling Incentives

They call some incentives “lead magnets” because they should exert some attracting force without you having to lift a finger. Think of a lead magnet as “a freebie you give your subscribers for joining your email list.”

With an incentive, any email newsletter is going to be instantly compelling, but it also needs to be highly relevant to your target audience. If it’s too far off-base from what your readers want and need, those subscribers will likely unsubscribe fairly quickly.

The premise is simple: give away something useful for free, and your most engaged readers won’t be able to help themselves—they’ll have to sign up.

It will help if you can elucidate the benefits of this incentive as well. In James Maher’s case, it wasn’t just the implicit promise of a “travel guide for photographers.” He also listed the specific benefits of reading it and outlined these benefits in bullet points.

Before you give something away, make sure you explain why it’s so valuable. More importantly, talk about the relevant takeaways your readers will get out of it.

Click-worthy Sign-up Buttons / CTAs

CTAs, or calls to action, are where the sign up form works its magic. Think of it as something like a “second headline.” The more clear you can make it—and the more incentivizing—the better.

For example, “Click here” is a notoriously bad CTA because it’s vague and doesn’t offer a specific benefit.

On the other hand, if your CTA says “Download your free guide today,” it offers a specific benefit that tells them exactly what they get through clicking.

Here's a great example from Contrarian Thinking:

Later on, we’ll address more about what CTAs are and how you can optimize yours for more conversions.

How to write the copy for your sign up form

Remember a simple rule: Keep It Simple, or KIS.

No one wants to read dense, collegiate-style essays when they scan through a sign up form. They’re after simpler information: what are you offering, and what can they get out of it?

“Download ‘The New York Photographer’s Travel Guide” is a great example here. The headline is clear, offers a benefit, and doesn’t overcomplicate its offer.

You should also think about framing your email newsletter in terms of a “mission statement.” Think about the basic information that introduces you to readers:

• Who are you?
• Why did you start the newsletter?
• What’s your main goal with the newsletter?
• Who is the newsletter for?

Emma Johnson provides a great example of “mission statement”-style writing. Underneath her headline, she starts off with 1) her name, 2) her goals, and 3) what people will get from reading “Wealthy Single Mommy,” her newsletter.

A well-written mission statement means no one ever has to guess what your newsletter is about.

That kind of mission statement is especially useful if you’re building a personal brand. When someone wants to find out more about who you are and what you do, a simple trip to your sign up page will clue them in.

Finally, fill out all the appropriate fields of your sign up page without leaving placeholders. For example:

• The name of your newsletter. If you don’t have one yet, try to think in terms of what people will get out of signing up. For example, “Fitter in Fifteen Days” is a promise of a fitness tip per day for the next fifteen days. You can always come back and rename the newsletter. 
• Fill in your body text. Think about what your readers need at this point. What are the benefits of signing up? Don’t just describe what your newsletter is. You’ll want a mixture of introducing the newsletter while simultaneously selling its key benefits to the reader.
• An appropriate CTA. Make sure your CTA is in line with everything that comes above it. But let’s get more specific about what makes CTAs compelling.

Write an engaging call to action (CTA)

We’ve covered a few CTA best practices before, but here are some key takeaways you can use today.

First, have fun with your CTAs. “Submit” or “sign up” don’t exactly get the click-finger itching to subscribe to a newsletter. “Start my fitness journey for free,” however, hints at an adventure. 

A great example of having fun with your CTA can be found at vocal coach Felicia Ricci’s sign up page. 

“Sign up today”? That would be a tad on the bland side.

 “Let’s belt, baby”? That’s a newsletter that sounds like it will be fun.

Next, try to hint that your newsletter makes things easy—and that the signup process itself will be convenient.

A CTA for a newsletter should sound like it can happen in a moment. For example, the word “Download” is a nice trigger for this, because we all know how easy it is to download a file these days.

Another trigger word for convenience is “Try.” There’s nothing overly intensive about trying something out. Who can argue with a CTA that sounds as breezy and effort-free as something you only have to try out once?

Build a sign up page that hits every note

Your sign up page, when done well, gives interested readers a compelling reason to share his or her email address with you so you can continue the conversation. 

The design of your page should come first, which is why it helps to start with AWeber. Check out the landing page templates we have available at AWeber to see what your conversion machine can look like—and get started today.

Here are just a few of our more popular sign up page templates that you can use for free in your AWeber account. Just click the image below and save to your account.

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Social media tools for government: What your team needs for success

Social media is like a 24/7 town hall meeting—news spreads, crises unfold and important questions emerge in real time. It’s a direct line to your residents and constituents, who expect you to be active and ready to engage on topics that are most important to them.

It’s no longer an anomaly to see public sector accounts going viral. But managing the social media presence of a government agency comes with a unique set of challenges. Complex platform security and governance requirements. Staff who balance multiple responsibilities beyond social. Ever-evolving strategies that can shift overnight.

Choosing the right social media tools for government agencies and other public sector organizations is a non-negotiable part of proactively reaching and engaging your citizens, saving your team valuable time, creating internal visibility and, ultimately, serving your community better. Use the criteria shared in this article to help your team harness the full power of social.

4 things to look for when evaluating social media tools for government entities

Investing in an intuitive social media management platform is an essential step toward building a strong relationship with your constituents. Yet, many agencies only use native tools to manage their accounts—leaving valuable insights and opportunities to connect untapped. Less than half of public sector entities use software to manage or execute their social media strategy, according to ArchiveSocial. The report also revealed agencies not being able to centrally manage their entire presence is the fastest-growing detriment to success on social.

Yet, not all social media management platforms are created equal. When evaluating social tools to help your agency make waves on social, look for one that:

1. Gives your team time back

Like in many industries, managing government social media is more than a 40 hour per week job, especially when staff members juggle other disciplines like communications, PR, digital marketing, content and more. This not only puts teams at risk of burnout, but prevents agencies from maximizing their presence on social and forming stronger relationships with their citizens and communities.

By using a centralized platform like Sprout Social, you’re enabled to make quick work of delivering social content, so your team can focus on engaging your constituents and refining your creative strategy. A recently commissioned Total Economic Impact™ study conducted by Forrester Consulting found that Sprout’s tools helped a composite organization representative of interviewed customers drive $973,000 in social media team productivity and efficiency savings over three years, and a 55% increase in year 3.

Here a few Sprout highlights that help teams collaborate more effectively:

• Shared calendar: Plan your strategy and maintain oversight from a central hub rather than disparate apps or spreadsheets. Organize posts across profiles, networks and campaigns using a visualized calendar to support a long-term strategy. For example, you can map out your posts for the upcoming week and month to assure your content lines up with priority community events.
• Publishing and scheduling: Boost collaboration between staff and increase productivity with campaign planning tools, automated workflows, and scheduling and monitoring tools. Automatically publish your content at the times most likely to reach constituents and receive real-time engagement updates.
• Message Approval Workflows: With internal and external approver features, ensure content is always approved and compliant with your agency’s communication guidelines—all within the Sprout platform.

2. Puts you in control of crisis management

Whether it’s important local events, public safety emergencies or otherwise, crises are an unavoidable part of government social media efforts. Teams need to be able to pivot their publishing quickly, respond to a surge in inbound messages and be proactive to avoid misinformation from spreading.

Stay on the pulse of social media conversations trending in your constituency to prevent minor risks from spiraling into large-scale crises. When evaluating social media tools for government use, look for powerful social listening and audience engagement solutions that do the heavy lifting for you.

The Sprout platform enables you to stop a crisis in its tracks. We offer a suite of tools designed to help you perfect your crisis response strategy—from easily monitoring your incoming messages to zeroing in on key conversations happening online.

• Pause All Content: In the face of a crisis, this feature enables you to pause all outgoing messages with one click—which saves you time and ensures your entire team is on the same page.
• Message Spike Alerts: If your message volume spikes, that could be indicative of a looming crisis. These alerts automatically send email or mobile push notifications when incoming messages exceed your hourly average, so your team doesn’t have to manually monitor your inbox 24/7.
• Social Listening: Sprout’s artificial intelligence (AI)-driven technology can help you gain critical intel about key public figures, trending misinformation and constituent concerns. The platform sifts through millions of social media data points in seconds, helping you access and share actionable findings with leadership and prominent government figures you work with.

3. Supports stronger, more meaningful citizen engagement

Your core mission is to serve your community—which includes serving them on their channel of choice: social media. To do so, you need to understand their preferences, concerns and communication needs, and be responsive and authentic when they reach out to you. Strengthen your citizen engagement by using social media tools that provide your team with valuable intelligence about your audience, and empower swift, proactive communication.

With Sprout’s platform, you can exceed your constituents’ expectations and deliver more tailored experiences on social media—while saving your team time. According to the Total Economic Impact™ study, for the composite organization, customer service specialists saved time equal to $142,000 over three years by using Sprout to respond to incoming me​​ssages and inquiries.

These Sprout tools are designed to help you foster connections with your citizens:

• Smart Inbox: Unify your social channels into a single stream so you’re empowered to monitor incoming messages, cultivate conversations and respond to your audience quickly. By tagging and filtering messages, you can prioritize what’s most important and discover unique engagement opportunities. Built-in collision detection notifications make for seamless collaboration, so you can see who has replied to a message and prevent duplicative work

• Brand Keywords: Often, people talk about your agency on social without tagging you directly. If you aren’t actively searching for these messages, you may miss important conversations. Brand Keywords are custom Twitter searches that constantly run and display results in your Smart Inbox, so you can see and respond to these highly relevant posts as easily as any other message. You can also set up alerts based on high priority or crisis keywords, so you’re always one step ahead.
• Custom VIP lists: Within the Smart Inbox, you can add the VIP label next to the avatar of Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn users who messaged you. This feature helps you track correspondences with key players in your constituency, like reporters, elected officials and business leaders.
• Listening: In addition to helping you manage a crisis, Sprout’s social listening solution helps you keep up with relevant trending conversations and influential community leaders. The tools gather honest feedback about your agency’s performance on social and beyond. With these insights, you will be empowered to produce more meaningful content and ladder-up your learnings to decision makers.

4. Reshapes perception of what social can do

In the public sector, social is still largely misunderstood. Many hold onto the lingering belief that it does more harm than good, while others see it as a wild west of misinformation. The right tool will help your communications team quantify the impact of your social efforts and change the way your agency’s stakeholders see social media (even if they aren’t social savvy).

Using a social media management platform makes it easy to create clear reports that demonstrate how your social strategy translates to agency goals. For example, with Sprout’s Analytics tools, you can eliminate the time-consuming manual data collection processes in favor of automated, presentation-ready reports. The Total Economic Impact™ study found that Sprout eliminated manual data aggregation to prepare monthly reports by 75%, resulting in $39,000 in savings over three years.

By using Sprout, you can automatically generate:

• Tag Reports: Access an overview of your inbound and outbound tagged messages to easily analyze campaign effectiveness, volume and performance patterns.
• Post Performance Reports: Analyze cross-channel performance at the post level to understand what messaging and formats resonate with your constituents and why.
• Profile Performance Reports: Access a high-level overview of performance across all connected profiles to quickly evaluate social growth, and how that growth correlates with key initiatives.

Find the right social media tools for your agency’s workflow

When evaluating social media tools for your government agency, to paraphrase JFK, don’t hesitate to ask what the tools will do for you. With the right social media management platform, you can do your best work more efficiently, proactively curb crises, create more time for citizen engagement and confidently demonstrate the value of social at your agency.

For a more comprehensive look at the value social media provides, download The Total Economic Impact™ of Sprout Social study, and learn how Sprout delivered a 233% return on investment over three years.

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How to sell your digital art: The key steps to success

Many of us love art. We love collecting it, viewing it, even buying it. Follow the numbers, and you’ll see that art hasn’t gone anywhere; it’s just a bit more digital than it used to be.

Maybe “a bit” is an understatement. 

Digital art sales have skyrocketed in popularity since 2020. Online art sales were hovering just under $5 billion before the pandemic. Then they skyrocketed to $7.8 billion the next year and over $13 billion last year.

A bigger digital art market means more opportunities for digital sellers. But that still leaves a challenge for aspiring artists.

Now, they’ll have to learn the new skillset of digitization. What are the prerequisites to building a following online, and which platforms should you use to help build your audience?

Selling digital art on platforms

Platform selection starts with a simple question: what do you want to sell? What is your chief medium? 

Computer graphics? Crypto art? Digital paintings? Physical art you digitize?

If your medium is digital photography, your platform will be different than if you select mixed media. That’s why you shouldn’t pick a platform until you know what it is you want to sell.

Once you do, you can browse through the most popular art platforms online:

• Bēhance is a top art platform for both discovering and sharing creative artwork. Design, photography, and videographers all call it home. It’s great for artists who monetize, as it doubles as a platform for selling tutorials and customized art services.
• Art Station also features a robust marketplace of visual artwork, as well as a shop for buying and selling prints. It trends toward pop culture artwork like games, movies, and other media.
• Dribbble comes in on the professional side of things. If you fancy yourself a professional creative designer or branding expert, it can be a great place to put your portfolio.
• Deviant Art features the largest online artwork gallery of all. It doubles as a portfolio and a place to buy or sell digital artwork.

Of course, you can also use platforms like Etsy, Design Cuts, and Red Bubble to sell your designs in other forms, like physical merchandise. 

The most important issue here is finding the platform that matches your interests. That’s where you’re going to meet your audience.

Want to make the most of the platform you choose? Here are some tips for getting started:

• Build up a strong portfolio. You may even have to do work for free. But many art lovers will browse these platforms looking for artists with strong portfolios. You may know your potential, but your audience won’t see it unless you can demonstrate it in a tangible portfolio.
• Buy your own domain. If you plan on making selling digital art a long-term thing, you’ll need your own audience. You can ultimately use platforms like DeviantArt to build attention—but a domain as the home of your personal brand.

Once you’ve explored a bit and built up a name for yourself, you can also consider building your own monetized community.

Platforms like Patreon or Buy Me A Coffee are useful for artists who want a “patron”-like experience. You can create customized art giveaways and other exclusives to encourage this audience to provide you with the steady income you need to continually reinvest in your work.

Promote your art

Once you’ve planted your flag, the next step is simple. 

You need people to look at it.

Simple as it is, executing this part of the “selling digital art” blueprint can take a while. For instance, you may work on your art for years before you find it gaining any sort of traction.

But as you develop as an artist, there are a few things you can do to promote your work and earn a living online. Let’s look at a few of them:

• Sell NFTs, or digital art as NFTs. Non-fungible tokens were a major part of what skyrocketed digital up to new heights in 2020 and 2021. People like these because NFTs are like buying artwork along with its “receipt,” making them exclusive owners. You can promote your artwork by creating NFTs that draw attention to everything else you’re doing online.
• Offering commissions. Many of the digital platforms above, like Dribbble, are great for both planting a flag and developing your portfolio. As you offer custom commissions to clients, you can create artwork that eventually builds word-of-mouth for what you do. In the meantime, you’re hard at work—but you’re also earning income.
• DIY How-To videos. Ever watch a sped-up watercolor painting video on TikTok? Or follow someone on Instagram because you saw their behind-the-scenes story as they created a digital art piece? Then you know the power of “How-to” videos to attract more eyeballs to your work.
• Social media communities. Some people are looking for artists like you; you just have to know where to find them. Identify social media communities (like r/Art on Reddit) where people want to see what you’ve put together. The key here: always add value, rather than ask for subscribers or followers.

It doesn’t hurt to have your own community, either.

Take the example of BOMONSTER. BOMONSTER’S art uses a scratchboard, where he takes an Xacto blade to a blackened board to scratch out the white highlights underneath.

It’s a perfect match for his chosen audience: hot rod, truck, and motorcycle fans. 

BOMONSTER had digitized his artwork early on, but found that his chosen method (PDF attachments in emails) was only landing him in his customers’ spam folders.

Instead, he used AWeber to create sign-up forms and capture his customers’ email addresses for his newsletter. 

And he isn’t afraid to “pitch” himself, either. If you’re working on your first 100 subscribers, you may have to do the same. BOMONSTER’s AWeber form highlights the types of emails he sends, including a section on “What makes my art different.”

There, he offers visual examples so people who are interested get a preview of the art. Whether he knew it or not, he was following many of the steps you just read—building a portfolio and a following over time. 

He’s upfront (yes, he is trying to sell you art), but seamless when it comes to making sales. He uses AWeber’s features that can turn emails into miniature galleries so people can browse the prints.

Selling your artwork online

If you don’t know where to start, pick one of the platforms and start building your presence with the “borrowed” audience that comes with it. 

Over time, as you build your portfolio, you can start highlighting your artwork on your own website—which should include a landing page with AWeber that lets you promote yourself, capture audience attention, and begin building a supportive community.

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